Amistad
by misguidedghostwriter22
Summary: After PP. Vlad wanders the depths of space, basking in defeat and slowly losing his life as well as his sanity in the process. But when he's abducted by aliens, everything changes. (I kinda suck at summaries but you get the gist).
1. Prologue

Hi! So this is my first try at fanfiction, so please bare with me lol

Like many DP fans, I wasn't too happy about Phantom Planet (especially with what happen to Vlad in the ending). But his fate did leave me wondering what happened after that and the idea for this story came up. For weeks, I didn't want to write it cause again, it would be my first try at fanfiction and like most other writers, I believe it would probably suck. But the idea would not get out of my brain and I love DP (especially Vlad). So without further ado, here's Amistad.

Danny Phantom belongs to Butch Hartman.

Comments/Suggestions are always welcomed :)

* * *

Prologue

_ I could not awake_

_my heart to joy at the same tone;_

_ and all I loved, I loved alone._

—Edgar Allen Poe

* * *

_He had been so focused on the blasted asteroid, he didn't realize how silent space was. The asteroid itself barely made a sound as it passed by him, ignoring his attempt to make it intangible as volts of electricity-like power raged through his system._

_ "It's composed of ecto-ranium…ecto-ranium…ecto-ranium…"_

_ Not even the sensual holographic poses could penetrate the layer of shock covering his fading pride._

_ "Ecto-ranium?!" the shock turned into overwhelming fear "That means…I could never touch it!" _

_He glanced back at earth, weeks of planning slipping from his vision and joining its seemingly steady rotation. It was doomed. Even if he could go back, he had revealed his true form..._

_ "I'll be forever hunted!" _

_For the first time, Vlad realized his stupidity. How could he forget to fully analyze the planetary material? How could he not notice the unusual neon green glow separating it from the rest? He snapped his head towards the ship in desperation. _

_His heart sank._

_In all their years of friendship, he had never seen Jack look at him the way he did now. His facial expression was completely unreadable, he didn't even look upset, it was as if he was about to take trash out._

_Still he tried._

"_Jack, you have to help me! You'd never turn your back on an old friend would you?"_

_ He couldn't believe the hint of hysteria in his voice. Why was he afraid? Jack was his fat old friend. He'd never leave him no matter what._

_ But the sky blue eyes that usually held an incredible amount of warmth were suddenly never ending tunnels. _

_ "An old friend? No. You?" as Jack's hollow voice filled his ears, Vlad realized it was the first time in 20 years he was actually listening to him, hanging on to every word as they drowned his heart further and further "Yes!"_

_ He was gone. Just like that, the ship they once shared dived rapidly towards earth, leaving Vlad and forty years of a spiraling friendship behind. _

_There was no hesitation in turning away from the soon-to-be-doomed planet and into the depths of space. In fact, the artificial voice of hologram Maddie failed to reach his ears as she announced, _

"_You are now flying 50 miles north away from earth…from earth…from earth…from earth." _

* * *

Well there it is haha. I probably should work on details a little more, I guess I was trying to capture the moment between them.

Anyway, I'll be posting chapter one tomorrow night and will probably be editing this prologue as well.


	2. Chapter 1

Hope ya'll are enjoying summer :)

So here's chapter 1, I made some edits to the prologue. Poor Vlad has been exiled to space by Jack after failing to stop the asteroid and is now coming to terms with his fate as well as Danny's victory.

Enjoy!

P.S. - Danny Phantom belongs to Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon.

* * *

Chapter 1

_ "You don't know how little you matter until you're all alone."_

-Frank Ocean, "Crack Rock"

* * *

_The autumn wind painted the leaves olive and orange. He trekked across the pathway of the university with his hands stuffed in his denim jean pockets and a blue scarf barely holding on to his long neck. _

"_Don't forget to wash your underwear Vladimir and don't be shy, make some friends!"_

_He tried not die of embarrassment as all the other freshman whom were moving into their dorms snickered behind him._

"_Of course mother."_

_ That was yesterday evening. Now Vladimir wandered the almost empty campus, searching for a place to eat. His midnight blue eyes spotted an opened taco house. _

_ "Bingo."_

_ He wondered if this would be his go to place on campus from now on. Perhaps he'd be able to make some friends in addition…_

_ "Oh!"_

_ Vladimir found himself stumbling backwards. He had accidently bumped into someone, knocking them to the ground. _

_ "I'm so sorry!" he gently took the person's arm and helped them to their feet "Are you…alright?"_

_ He was looking into the eyes of the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. She had the Cindy Lauper look; she wore her brown hair in loose curls with a black blouse, an olive skirt that showed off her curves perfectly, hot pink socks that matched her lipstick, and black converse sneakers. The excessive jewelry around her neck and wrists bounced as she rubbed the side of her head while giving him a playful smile._

_ "It's alright." she said in the sweetest voice "I should be apologizing. I'm totally clumsy."_

_ Vladimir found himself absolutely mesmerized._

_ "Blueberry scones." he muttered before quickly putting a hand on his mouth._

_ The woman giggled._

_ "Did you just exclaim in pastry?"_

_ "Uh…I…um…"_

_ She giggled again before holding out her small hand._

_ "I'm Madeline by the way. But my friends call me Maddie."_

_ He smiled sheepishly before taking her hand. It was soft and fit his almost perfectly._

_ "I'm V-Vladimir. It's nice to meet you."_

_ "You to. Is it okay if I call you Vlad?"_

_ He looked at her in surprise. He didn't think there was a nickname for his name._

_ "Uh yeah, of course."_

_ "Awesome." She clapped her hands together "So what brings you here?"_

_ "Just getting some tacos." he jerked his thumb awkwardly to the taco house "You?"_

_ "Heading to the lounge. My friend Harriet is making cupcakes. You should stop by and have some with us after the taco house."_

_ "Oh…" he blushed "Um I dunno if I can."_

_ "They're red velvet." Maddie winked._

_ "Okay." he said with a grin "Yeah, I'll totally be there."_

_ "I'll save you one then." she started walking passed him before turning with a wave "See you there!"_

_ Vladimir waved as well, his eyes lidding as he watched her walk, her hips swaying enticingly._

_ "See you Maddie."_

* * *

"The little badger did it."

Vlad didn't think defeat was that deep of a pool. In fact, he had to settle on asteroid debris in order to stop sinking.

50 miles into his journey, he broke the unspoken promise to never turn back. Earth engulfed in inferno would be the one image to stalk his mind, chasing away any sanity he had left. But he couldn't help it.

It was quite an amazing sight. By now, the asteroid was approaching the doomed planet. Yet earth was still vivid and bright from the sun's glow. It was almost unreal how such vulnerable planet could carry so much life and how soon all that life will be gone. Life, including Madeline and Daniel. All life including his irritating friends, Samantha and Tucker, as well as Valerie, Jack, and Jasmine. And Dani. All life and even death, including the ghost zone. All evidence of all history and memory, gone.

Perhaps it was his ghost form or the dense atmosphere of space itself that caused a heavy weight to tie his stomach in knots.

The knots grew even tighter and painful as the asteroid passed through the earth's atmosphere before earth vanished.

…_vanished?!_

"Impossible."

Before his blood red eyes, the asteroid passed through an empty space where earth was. Not even two minutes after it passed, the earth reappeared, whole and present, leaving Vlad's heart to fight his chest.

"But…but how?" he couldn't even bring himself to summon the Maddie hologram for an explanation "No…I…it can't be…it was as if earth was…intangible?"

Intangible. It didn't take long to put two and two together.

"Of course." he murmured "Daniel made the earth intangible."

Once again, he refused to believe the hysteria in his laughter as he watched the earth resume its rotation, pushing time on.

* * *

"_Using your opponent's weaknesses against them? I am teaching you something aren't I?"_

And Danny's been using this knowledge against him ever since.

Of all the battles they fought, he never realized the boy had been his pupil, mimicking his powers and using them to his advantage, sometimes against him.

"Daniel couldn't make the earth intangible all on his own." Vlad's black goatee covered chin incased in his space helmet, rested on the palm of his hand as his legs dangled off the space rock "He had to convince the entire ghost zone to do so."

The last time he checked, pretty much every ghost in the ghost zone hated Danny. The boy only had few allies, how could he possibly convince such enemies to work with him? Even if their world were to end, knowing the arrogance of ghosts, Vlad doubted that reason alone would convince them. Come to think of it, how were the ghosts able to make the entire planet intangible? What machine could scientists around the globe possibly build in a week for such a task?

"Does it really matter?" Vlad scoffed at the distant earth "The little badger did it. Danny Phantom saves the world."

He laughed into space and allowed himself to lie on the rock.

"He's probably revealed his true identity. No point in hiding it now. I assume they're also honoring his heroism in the form of a statue. How quaint."

As much as he was unwilling to admit it, Vlad knew Danny saw himself as a hero. The ghost fighting hobby was like a comic book story for him, which was why the ghost zone hated him. He was the ghost who used his powers for "good," chasing away any other ghost that he deemed a threat to his society. In a way, the boy was fulfilling his parent's duty as ghost hunters.

_Ghost hunters._

He never believed that two scientists as intelligent and bright as Jack and Maddie would ever take up ghost hunting. Paranormal research? Yeah. But ghost hunting? Back in college, he never thought they'd take up the rare job. Then again, back in college, he never thought they'd get married and have two children, one of them becoming half ghost either. He never predicted he'd become half-ghost himself as a result of Jack's foolishness and fight for Maddie's love. And he certainly would never believe he'd spend the end of his days exiled to solitude in space by his best friend.

_If only they told us those things in college._

He chuckled as he watched the stars, as vivid and as bright as earth, flicker. It was so quiet.

"The silence of my mansion is nothing compared to this." he murmured with a rather manic smile "But I'm not really alone, am I?"

He lifted his wrist and tapped a few times before the Maddie hologram appeared.

"Maddie." his eyes lidded and his face immediately brightened "You never looked lovelier."

He could see the stars through her as she gave him a smile, warm and artificial.

"Thank you Vlad. How can I be of assistance?"

"Take off your hood and goggles so I can see that lovely face of yours."

She obeyed.

"Is that all?"

"Yes my dear, just stand there and look at me."

The hologram did just that, striking his favorite Maddie pose, her arms crossed calmly as she leaned on her left leg. It was her thinking pose, something she did when in deep thought.

Vlad felt his heart flutter with nothing but love so overwhelming, it filled his lungs, making it rather hard to breathe. Or was that his helmet loosing oxygen support?

How long had he been staring at her? It didn't matter for space was never ending. He wasn't bound to any time zone, only to her. He had always been since the day he bumped into her. It wasn't until her hologram began to fade, that Vlad notice not only his space suit shutting down, but the rock he was sitting on had been moving in tune with other rocks away from earth, which was now a speck from where he was sitting.

"Meteor shower."

Not too long ago, he had read a novel by Ray Bradbury called the Illustrated Man. The story that stuck out to him the most would've been a story Daniel would enjoy or maybe have him rethink being an astronaut.

It was about a group of astronauts who were thrown into space by their exploding ship before they could band together. As a result, they were faced with the fate of being stranded in space with no way to get home. Vlad now understood the horrific yet eerie feeling and like the astronauts in the story, he accepted his fate. It helped to believe the meteors were taking him back home, a place where he'd be with Maddie and they'd be together forever, no children, just them. He had a feeling there was a lifetime like that.

He lifted up his heavy head as he went faster into space to look at the fading hologram still in her pose.

"Maddie my love."

"Yes Vlad?"

"I have to go now, okay?"

"Yes Vlad. Is there any-"

She was gone. His suit had officially shut down. Vlad gave his wrist a sad smile before pulling off his helmet. It felt as if both his lungs were collapsing. Perhaps that was exactly what was happening. But it was alright, he was going home soon. He could already smell the food Maddie would set on the table, then they'd sit and play cards over tea before washing the dishes and going to bed.

He leaned back on the rock as it raced through space alongside its companions.

"Hurry up guys." he murmured, his eyes closing "I have to get home soon. I don't want to keep her waiting."

* * *

Poor Vladdie :(

Don't worry guys, things will be picking up for our favorite halfa. So next chapter is when we meet our lovely alien abductors and I will be updating that chapter soon (It's already halfway done).

Comment/Suggestions are always welcome :D


	3. Chapter 2

Hey my loves!

I do apologize for the delay, it's been rather busy for me with work and stuff.

Anyway, this chapter is a bit short since its more of an introduction to our alien abductors. Just to summarize, Vlad has been exiled to space and gets caught in a meteor shower. We'll find out what happens to him after this chapter, but for now lets see what our aliens are doing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. Danny Phantom belongs to Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon

* * *

_ "You're in control, is there anything you wanna know?"_

_ - _Coldplay, "Square One"

* * *

"Argon, I have a thought."

The towering 7 foot, peach-skin Osarian slowly took his large black pupil-absent eyes off the foreign specimen and landed them on his 4 foot counterpart next to him. They were in the procedure room, a bright white walled medical sanctuary located within the medical center which took up the mid-north region of the space cruiser, _Amistad_. It was just the three of them, two Osarians and one foreign creature surrounded by various buttons and advanced self-sanitizing medical tools. The specimen lying on the white metal slab of bedding was naked and knocked out cold, the glow of his pale skin as dampened as the jet black hair that reached his shoulders. Argon was carefully picking out a nest of marmite parasites from the specimen's bulky shoulder, a hundred years of experience guiding him through the procedure.

"Always the thoughtful one, eh Tydo?"

He had hoped that would keep him quiet for at least 10 minutes, but he knew better as he watched Tydo's eyes bridge into slits as if taking Argon's comment as an opportunity to ponder the thought more.

"Yes." he said after a moment "I always have thoughts."

Argon gave a deep sigh as he carefully pushed a tendon to the side, pulling out a particularly stubborn marmite and quickly stuffing it into a silver jar before it could bite him.

"How I hate the males." he grunted, elbowing the red button behind him, summoning a jet pod to lower itself from the ceiling and hand him a wet towel "This creature managed to contract a great amount of them. Judging from the muscle structure, it has to be a male Gallian. Anyway," he turned to Tydo, wiping his hands "you had a thought?"

"Yes." Tydo lifted his tiny hands off the glow light he had been holding over the body "What do you think about loneliness?"

"Loneliness."

"Yes." Tydo looked up at him with a sure nod.

Argon pursed his almost nonexistent lips.

"Now Argon-"

"May I ask _who_ exactly gave you that thought?"

"No one, for thoughts can't be given."

Tydo's still posture told Argon otherwise, but he decided to play along.

"Loneliness." he eyed the bright stars from outside the ship's opened window that extended halfway around the room "To me, it's when you're alone and you despise it, which I think is the silliest thing in the world."

"I thought that would be your answer." Tydo tilted his large head "But why?"

"Why would anyone despise being alone? Why Tydo, that's completely beyond me-"

"No, I mean why would it be silly to despise loneliness?"

Argon snapped his head to Tydo with narrowed eyes.

"Argon, I-"

"Who have you been talking to?"

"No one!" said Tydo too quickly "I'm just curious."

Argon turned away from his assistant with a frown. He was now focused on the few marmites inside the Gallian's shoulder.

"I sensed it."

"What do you me-"

"Tydo, please." He lifted up a hand "Do not interrupt nor deny. During the time we retrieved the Gallian, one of the pilots informed me that he had overheard you speaking to someone in the lounge. I refused to believe it partially because the said pilot is of course an Airdon and also because out of this crew, you are the one I trust and know the most."

"With my utmost respect Argon, who is this person you speak of?"

"I don't know Tydo, you tell me. The pilot gave me the most ridiculous description."

"He was able to see it?"

"So you _were _talking to someone." Tydo had fallen into his trick; the pilot never saw the intruder.

Tydo opened his mouth and closed it before looking down. Argon's piercing eyes quickly filled with concern; Osarians were rarely ever speechless.

"Tydo." he waited until the little Osarian looked up "Who is this being?"

"I only know it by voice and even its voice is unidentifiable." Tydo slowly blinked "It was as if it didn't belong to a body."

"So it was…disembodied?" Argon had never heard of such a concept nor recall any species that held it.

"Yes." Tydo nodded "I've tried to confront him, but he won't appear. He knows a lot about our people Argon."

The elder Osarian's frown deepened.

"What did he say exactly?"

"I couldn't comprehend word for word, but from what I could gather, he strongly recommends for us to follow time."

"We Osarians are not bound to time."

"That's what I said."

"And how did he respond?"

"He says we should start learning."

"And if we don't?"

"According to him, we have no choice. It's only a matter of time."

From the strained look on Tydo's face, Argon could tell he wasn't the only one irritated by this. Whoever this creature was, it sounded more and more like an Airdon, spewing complete nonsense to insult the Osarian race.

"Let us talk about this later." he pressed a spot on his massive forehead and closed his eyes.

Tydo slowly nodded.

"Agreed."

The Gallian stirred with a soft groan prompting the Osarians to quickly get back to work. By the time Argon had closed and cleaned up the wound having pulled out the remaining marmites, the specimen was blinking against the bright light. Pretty soon, he'd start panicking and from the look of the uniform the creature had been wearing earlier and the destroyed moon they had retrieved him from, there was no doubt he was a soldier.

"Transfer him to the CU room. Remember to sedate him and monitor him. Do not answer any questions until I'm there, understood?"

"Yes Argon." Tydo clicked two buttons on the side of the bed causing it to levitate above and in front of him.

"CU room." he instructed to which the bed obeyed, slowly moving towards the doors.

Tydo turned to Argon.

"I will be in the stellar room, retrieving the specimen's records. Contact me or one of the pilots if anything."

The little Osarian nodded again before following the bed out of the room. Once he was gone, Argon quickly placed all tools in their rightful places before summoning a touch screen clipboard from the ceiling to record the procedure. He tried hard to focus on his words, but he kept wandering to Tydo's strange encounter.

Who exactly was this creature? He didn't tell Tydo that when he first sensed it, he could feel the disembodied presence as well, but he didn't hear the voice and he knew it wasn't a coincidence. Osarians had powerful sub-consciousness and complete control over their mental abilities. If someone has communicated with one via telepathically, they'd all hear some form of it. Airdons were only vaguely aware of their sub-consciousness but weren't blind to certain telepathic messages. But this creature had managed to worm its way around Argon of all people, allowing only Tydo and the Airdon pilot to hear it, something that unnerved him.

After putting his clipboard away, Argon headed down to the stellar room. The hallway to the room was one he's always found contentment in: badged colored with oval shaped windows for every long step he took. It was usually a place where he could think clearly and efficiently. Argon didn't think he'd be walking through this hall with the phrase repeating itself in his head until he reached the door of the stellar room,

_It's only a matter of time._

* * *

Pretty sure you all could guess by now who's the intruder haha

I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far. Thank you to those who reviewed, it's much appreciated and please keep them coming, studies show that when you critique a person's writing, they magically get better ;)

I'll be posting the next chapter soon!


	4. Chapter 3

Hello my loves :)

So I've been working on this chapter, typing parts of it on my phone to and from work haha. But I enjoyed writing it and hope you'll enjoy it too!

Disclaimer - Danny Phantom belongs to Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon. There's also a scene inspired by the Darren Aronofsky film The Fountain (beautiful film), so The Fountain belongs to Darren Aronofsky.

* * *

"_Here we are, trapped in the amber of the moment. There is no why."_

― Kurt Vonnegut

* * *

"_Vladimir? You Russian or something?"_

_Vlad's cheeks heated up as Harriet Chin, an Asian woman with wavy jet-black hair and demanding hazel eyes stared at him intently. They were sitting at a round table in the kitchen part of the lounge. The cupcakes were ready by the time he got there from the taco house. Maddie was smearing vanilla frosting while Vlad stared at her, drinking in her frame before Harriet began talking to, or rather interrogating, him._

"_Well yeah, kind of." he said trying to avoid her intense gaze "My mom and dad were born in Moscow. I was born here, but I used to visit sometimes."_

"_Really?" she smiled in excitement, leaning closer "What's it like? It's a communist country right? What's that like? Do people dress differently? Do they actually drink vodka more than water? Can you speak the language? What's it like? Tell me."_

"_Uh…cold?" Vlad already forgot most of the questions._

"_Oh my God Harriet, let him breathe!" Maddie laughed as she set the cupcakes on the table._

"_I'm just curious, geez!" Harriet rolled her eyes as she leaned back in her chair._

_Maddie sat next to Vlad, shaking her head._

"_Your curiosity is the reason you can't get a boyfriend."_

"_And your big ass is the reason you can't find one either."_

"_HARRIET!"_

_Harriet gave a rather menacing laugh as both Maddie and Vlad turned red. _

"_You know I'm joking!" she turned to Vlad and whispered "She hates when I talk about her derriere. But it's great to look at huh Vlad?"_

_He was close to running out of the room, but he was saved by Maddie's scoff._

"_Please ignore her, she's crazy."_

"_Not crazy, just telling it like I see it."_

"_Whatever." Maddie pulled a talk-to-the-hand gesture._

"_Okay ladies." Vlad smiled as he relaxed in his chair, taking a cupcake "Hold fire."_

"_So can you speak Russian?" Harriet took a cupcake of her own._

"_Somewhat."_

"_Speak it then."_

"_No way, I sound bogus."_

"_Come on. It can't be that bad."_

"_Yeah." Maddie rested her chin on his shoulder "Please?"_

_Of course he couldn't resist that look, who could? He cleared his throat._

_(1) "_Привет, Что нового?"

_The look on the girls' faces made him laugh._

"_That bad huh? I told you I sounded bogus."_

"_No." Maddie shook her head with a sheepish smile "You sounded…"_

"_Sexy." finished Harriet with a grin._

_Vlad blinked. He must not have heard correctly._

"_Sexy?"_

"_Totally!" _

_Maddie nodded in agreement._

"_Your voice got deeper." her cheeks were pink making her eyes stand out._

"_Well people say I sound like my dad." _

"_I know what you mean." Harriet rolled her eyes "People tell me I sound like my mom when I speak Chinese."_

"_You do sound like the sweetest person which can be confusing." Maddie pointed out._

_Vlad laughed as Harriet reached over to playfully hit the back of her friend's head._

"_Tell us something else in Russian." Maddie was on his shoulder again, looking into his midnight blue eyes. She was so cute, this would be the perfect opportunity to get to know her better._

_(2) "_Вы хотели бы выходить в свет со мной?"

_The girls giggled as they waited for his translation. Vlad took a deep breath and looked at Maddie._

"_That means, 'Would you like to-'"_

_Boom!_

_If an earthquake could take the form of a person, the guy who knocked him 2 feet from the table to leer at the cupcakes was just the one. He was the size of a giant with thick black shoulder length hair, sky blue eyes, and the friendliest smile._

"_Vlad!" Harriet quickly pulled him to his feet before turning to the giant "Excuse me! What do you think you're doing?"_

"_Huh?" the man snapped out of his trance, looking at a surprised Maddie and an upset Harriet before settling on a disoriented Vlad._

"_Oh!" he suddenly snapped out of it and walked over to him "I'm sorry man, I didn't mean to knock you out. James is right, I really don't know my own strength. I thought he only said that to win our wrestling matches."_

_Despite the disappointment at a missed opportunity as well as his aching shoulder, Vlad smiled._

"_It's okay."_

"_No it's not!" cried Harriet "He almost smashed my cupcakes!"_

"_You made those cupcakes?! I smelled them a mile away so I had to find the source!"_

_Vlad and Maddie glanced at each other in amusement. This guy sounded like he was on a mission. _

"_Well you found 'em." Harriet pushed him aside as she walked back to their table "and you can't have them."_

"_Please!" he cried "I have to have one!"_

"_NO!"_

"_But they smell so good!"_

"_Harriet, let him have one." Vlad patted the guys back, almost feeling sorry for him._

"_Yeah." said Maddie "He did scout for them."_

"_Fine!" she threw a cupcake in his face "There. Satisfied?"_

_The man inhaled the dessert, licking his lips in satisfaction._

"_Yes!" he said with a grin and scooped her into a bear hug "Thank you!"_

"_Ugh! Put me down!" Harriet pushed him away in disgust "Who do you think you are anyway?"_

"_Oh right! I'm Jack, Jack Fenton."_

"_Vlad Masters." _

"_I'm Maddie."_

"_And you?" he turned to Harriet who rolled her eyes._

"_Harriet Chin."_

"_Harriet Chin? Do you mind if I call you Hairy? Hairy Chin?" he didn't even wait for their reactions and gave a booming laugh "Get it?!"_

_Harriet's jaw dropped before her face twisted into anger._

"_You asshole!"_

_It took both Maddie and Vlad to stop her from ripping the air from Jack's throat._

"_Harriet calm down, he was joking!" Vlad did his best to avoid her sharp black nails as he put an arm around her thin torso._

_ "People are looking!" Maddie grabbed her wrists._

_ "Ugh!" she shoved them away and stormed off._

_ "Harriet!" Maddie cried "Wait!"_

_ But she had already left, leaving both Maddie and Vlad to turn to Jack with scowling faces._

_ "What?" Jack shrugged like a child "It totally sounded funny in my head."_

_ "Jack." Maddie sighed as Vlad face palmed "Harriet is sensitive about her name. She used to get bullied in high school over it."_

_ "It was also kind of racist." Vlad added._

_ "Racist?" Jack put his hands on his hips "Jack Fenton is no racist! The joke is that her name sounds like hairy chin 'cause her nickname is Harry and her last name is…oh."_

_ "Exactly." Vlad reached up to put a hand on his wide shoulder "You should apologize."_

_ "That won't be enough." Jack sat down, slumped in sadness "She totally tried to kill me."_

_ "Maybe bring her a gift?"_

_ Jack's face immediately lit up._

_ "You're right V-man!"_

_ "V-man?" he stared at him as Maddie giggled._

_ "I'll bring her fudge! No one can resist fudge."_

_ "Fudge?" _

_ "Yeah." Jack stood up, nearly knocking the chair over "I have tons of it stored in the fridge. Pretty sure room 1313 smells like heaven right now."_

_ Vlad's eyes widened._

_ "Room 1313…you're my roommate?"_

_ "We're roommates? Hey, you wouldn't happen to be a biology major?"_

_ "I am." He was still in shock, his mind conjuring an unpleasant image of boxes of fudge filling up the fridge. _

_ "So am I." piped in Maddie brightly. _

_ "Radical!" Jack fist-pumped the air "Two lab partners!"_

_ He put a heavy arm around Vlad. "And a roommie. You and I are going to be the best of friends V-man and the coolest guys in school!"_

_ "Quite the dreamer huh?" he looked at Maddie for help, but she only gave him a knowing smile._

_ Jack grinned and pulled Vlad into a back breaking bear hug._

_ "Fudge brownies!" he wheezed._

_ "See that?!" Jack turned to Maddie as he squeezed him even tighter "He knows me already."_

_ Vlad felt a vertebrae pop._

_ 'At least I made friends.' _

* * *

It was the first time he ever felt light.

For 20+ years, Vlad had always carried a heavy mass on his shoulder. Every business meeting he went to, every business he attended to in the ghost zone, every battle he fought with Danny and his annoying squad with the younger half ghost taking jabs at his mental health, advising him to get a cat or therapy, every time he saw Jack and Maddie together patrolling Amity Park, every moment he spent alone in his study, in his mansion, the mass made itself present. He sometimes wondered if he would ever drown in it or more importantly, how he could go all this time holding it.

But now it was gone and he felt himself almost flying through an overwhelmingly warm fog. The sound of a heart beat that pumped like a humming bird soothed his ears and it dawned on him: this was death.

Death was the road to awe and he was already in awe at how amazing it felt.

In his haze, Vlad felt someone turning his hand in theirs. He opened his eyes, expecting to see an angel who would take him to his moment of judgment. What he didn't expect was a pale bald headed man staring at him with blank eyes. He certainly didn't expect to be naked either.

"Butterscotch cookies!"

He tried to cover himself and frantically looked around. He was still in his ghost form and was standing, actually levitating, in a thick golden fog that sparkled so bright, it might as well been full of diamonds. It didn't take him long to realize the source of the humming beat was behind him. At the same time a wave of warmth flooded him right down to his soul, Vlad turned to see a bright light that would've blinded him hadn't not been for the fact that it was blinking, emitting a beautiful yet hallow beat as if it was a weakening heart unable to support an entire system.

He almost passed out again.

"Am I…am I in a dying _star_?"

A wave of questions flooded his now fully awake mind, but only two of them made it to the surface. He quickly whipped around to find the bald headed man staring at him. The questions got stuck in his throat as he suddenly felt exposed. He never thought he'd meet someone with eyes as intense as Harriet's. Vlad quickly shook his head.

"What is wrong with me?" he whispered "I am Vlad Masters! I shouldn't be afraid of this…wait, who are you?"

But when he looked up, the mysterious man was no longer focused on him. He was doing a strange and slow… dance? routine?

"Yoga?" He tilted his head in fascination.

The man's movements were so fluid, authentic, and timeless, it was as if they were meant to calm the star, delivering it to its death. From the long white robe he wore, Vlad wondered if he was some kind of space monk.

"I have to be dreaming." he almost pinched himself "Or perhaps I'm already dead? Even in dream or death, I can never be with Maddie." His red eyes, filled with exasperation and despair, looked up at eternal space veiled by the majestic haze.

"What did I do to deserve this torment?" he asked it "All I wanted was to be loved!"

But the diamond sparkles could not find his answer and Vlad looked back at the space monk, only to find him staring again. He tried not to let surprise show on his face. Whoever this creature was, whether he was dead or simply dreaming, he had to get it on his side. Call it old business/political habits.

"Oh!" Vlad quickly gave one his charming smiles "Hello there."

The monk continued to stare at him. Vlad cleared his throat before slowly flying towards it, forcing himself not to be conscious of the fact that he was naked or how it was probably the monk who undressed him in the first place.

"Um…I assumed you saved me? Well I thank you dearly for it."

Not a word. Vlad moved a little closer, savoring the closing warmth of the fog as he flew through it.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Vladimir Masters. I was once a devastatingly handsome (still am) billionaire and half ghost villain on a planet called Earth. I assume you've probably heard of it before, yes?"

Silence.

"Yes, well I was supposed to rule it you see, but it backfired on me…backfired big time. Kind of a funny story actually. You see, I was trying to dominate the world right? And of course, Daniel _had_ to stop me. I swear the boy thinks he's a super hero but he's not. Anyway, not only does the little brat destroy my satellite, but he questions my mental health _and _ruins my morning!

I had to get rid of him, so I hired a team of high tech ghost hunters: Masters Blasters! Good ring to it if I do say so myself. So they start humiliating poor Daniel and force the little badger to give up his powers. Surprising really, I mean, I honestly didn't think he'd do it. In fact, I wonder if he really thinks he's a super hero, I mean he could be more realistic and become my protégée, all he had to do renounce his father…anyway, Danny Phantom is no more and this blasted asteroid heads for earth. So I take my chance at world domination because I knew…well I thought I knew I could stop it. But as said before, it backfired on me because come to find out, it was made out ecto-ranium, a substance that ghosts couldn't touch…Now that I think about it, its strange how an asteroid could have a substance ghosts can't touch…"

"Well anyway, I basically failed at my mission and was left in space by my best frie- by Jack. I thought it would be the end of Earth until I saw the planet vanish before my very eyes before reappearing again and I thought 'of course, Daniel.' The little badger found a way to save the world and now he's the super hero he's always wanted to be." he gave himself a moment to roll his eyes bitterly before clearing his throat.

"Now here I am in a dying star…with you."

Silence.

"Come on," he threw his arms up in exasperation "I've already been exiled by all of Earth! The last thing I need is to be exiled by a space monk doing yoga."

"You mean a star performing a ritual."

Vlad didn't need to look at the monk for he wasn't the one who spoke. It was an ancient baby ghost who suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Boo." said Clockwork.

He was positive the planets surrounding the star could hear his impressively high yelp.

"Butter biscuits Clockwork! You damn near gave me a heart attack!"

The ancient ghost, who was now an adult, smirked with amusing red eyes.

"You have no idea how many ghosts fall for that trick on a daily basis. Ghostwriter falls for it all the time. He'll do this little squeal, drop his books, and pass

out."

Vlad burst out laughing, imagining the writer's Achilles heel, but stopped when he caught Clockwork observing him thoughtfully.

"It's been a while since I heard you laugh like that." he changed into an old man, stroking his long white beard "Like the skinny shy half-ghost boy who found

himself in the ghost zone for the first time."

"Shut up." Vlad narrowed his eyes, the last thing he wanted to do was go back to his past. He's been doing that enough already.

Clockwork smiled with such genuine concern and understanding, it almost scared Vlad more than his "boo" tactic. Almost.

"I really like the speech you gave. It was quite moving, but clearly not inspiring enough for this star who's as you can see, at the brink of its death." he

gestured calmly to the monk who had resumed its dance.

Vlad scoffed before it dawned on him. He glanced between Clockwork and the space monk.

"That's a star."

"Yes."

"_That's_ the star."

"That's the _dying_ star."

"And it's doing yoga-"

"A ritual."

"-a ritual because?"

"Because it's dying, my goodness Vlad I thought you were smarter than tha- ow!"

"How?"

"Did you just hit me on my head?"

"How could that possibly be a star? Isn't the dying star behind us?"

"We are in a much deeper part the star than you think. That hurt by the way."

"So you're saying we're in the soul of the star?"

He looked around in confusion. Since when did stars have souls?

"Stars have always had epitomes." said Clockwork, reading his thoughts "Which is how you got here in the first place. It sensed you amongst the meteor

shower and pulled you in."

"Why?"

"Because you were dying."

Although he already knew that he had been falling to his death, Vlad still turned to the ancient ghost in question.

"How exactly would it know I was about to die?"

"It's not in the way you think, Vlad." Clockwork looked at the blinking mass of light, his face illuminating along with his staff "Not in the physical sense."

Vlad looked down grimly.

"Oh _of course_." he muttered "You mean mentally."

Great, even a dying star thought he was a fruitloop.

"Would you suggest therapy?"

"No."

"What?" Vlad looked up.

"Not mentally either." Clockwork shook his head and turned away from the light to look at Vlad "Your epitome, your soul."

"An epitome contains all that you are. Never mind the past or future, its all about the present. All the love, joy, and wisdom you learned from the past to go

forward into the future are what fuels your epitome."

Clockwork's face darkened in a sadness that nearly overwhelmed Vlad. He really wished he had his clothes.

"But you never had that chance, did you? At a young age, you were robbed not only half your life, but the love of your life and because you took it as a

tragedy, you lost the basic nurtures of your epitome, leaving you to die as slowly as this star. You had experience Vlad and the money and power to use your

powers for personal gain. You wanted to teach your best friend's son everything you knew in exchange for him to become your son, thus beginning a new

tragedy that ended with your exile in space."

"I've watched you Vlad. Since the day you came into my lair, I've watched your lifetimes change through and through from the perspectives of different people

in your life and I'm sorry to say you don't last very long in some of them. In fact, one person came to me in desperation to erase all memory of you once and

for all. I think you can guess who that person is."

Vlad really didn't like where this conversation was going or how intensely Clockwork was looking at him. He suddenly wanted to go back. Back to college,

where he wasn't half-ghost, where he wasn't chasing a 14 year old half-ghost child begging him to be his protégée,where he wasn't trying to dominate the

world, even where he wasn't in love, where he was just Vladimir majoring in biology with a simple crush and surrounded by friends, looking forward to

coming home for the holidays and making ginger bread cookies with mother…

"Why are you telling me all this?" he could barely hear his own voice.

Clockwork blinked before gliding very close to him. The golden haze filled his lungs as the ancient ghost, now an adult, put a concerned hand on his shoulder.

"Because I love you Vlad."

Well. That did the trick.

"No, I can't. I have to go, I have-" he shook his head almost frantically and made a turn to leave, but Clockwork kept a tight hold on him.

"How can a man who knows romantic love all too well fail to understand genuine love? I care for you Vlad. Almost everyone on Earth and the ghost zone has given up on you. I haven't. I want you to know that and that's why I'm here, to help you start new."

"So what? This is your perspective of my lifetime now Clockwork?" he pushed the concerned gesture away in sudden anger "I'm forty years old, exiled into space with no cloths on! How exactly am I supposed to be starting new? All I can do now is find a faraway moon, build a mansion on it, and spend the last of my days alone! That's how it's been, that's how it will always be!"

His anger turned into fury as Clockwork chuckled.

"What _exactly_ is so funny?"

"You really aren't smart, are you?"

"Clockwork." Vlad gritted his teeth, his fangs flashing, competing with the diamond sparkles.

But the ancient ghost continued to smile his secretive smile.

"This particular lifetime isn't from anyone's perspective but your own. Even though others have tried to change it, you've always had control of your life. Now

it's time to actually live it."

"You've been talking in circles."

"You'll understand soon enough. It's only a matter of-"

"Please don't say it!"

Clockwork closed his mouth.

"Thank you. Now I demand to know the _real_ reason I'm here and if you make a revelation like that again, so help me God-"

_Voop!_

The haze was ripped from his lungs and his ghostly body, leaving him with an aching call in his chest for it to come back. He and Clockwork both turned to the

epitome of the star, once a brilliant ball of blinking light, now a dim candle-like flame barely moving. The monk was nowhere to be seen.

"It's dead." he breathed.

"Not yet." said Clockwork "its collapsing and soon it will explode, which means" he checked the clock on his staff "he should be here very soon."

"He?"

"You'll see for yourself Vlad." he placed a light hand on his shoulder "It's only a matter of time."

Before he could slap Clockwork to the next galaxy, the ancient ghost vanished. Vlad looked down, surprised to find himself clothed again. He sighed, rubbing

his temples. Speaking to Clockwork was always a headache.

Vlad turned to the dim light. It could no longer highlight the now cold and dark space around him. The longing ache for it grew in his chest and he found himself

drifting towards it. The closer he got, the more he could feel someone calling for him without using words, like a thoughtful beckoning to come

closer. He was tempted to switch into his human form but resisted, embracing the familiar warmth of the diminishing epitome. It didn't take long for the longing

his chest to fuse in time with it, swallowing him whole and pulling him into a beautiful rush until he slowly fell into a sweet bliss that cleared his mind and

landed on his feet.

With his eyes still closed, Vlad allowed himself to lean on what felt like a sleek wall and slide down on a marble floor.

"Wow." the grin on his face was a flushed and lazy "I felt like I just had great sex."

"If interrupting an Osarian's contemplation is mating to you, than I dare say it should be outlawed on your planet."

The ominous baritone voice froze him in place, prompting him to open his eyes.

For about the third time, Vlad tried not to pass out. He was in a large silver walled room with a sea of constellations for a ceiling. Sitting in front of him was what looked like an alien, the stereotypical ones he didn't think existed in real life. It had peach skin, a large head, and almost equally large black pupil-absent eyes. As it lifted itself from sitting position, Vlad could see it was wearing a dark colored space suit and towered 7 feet over him.

The extraterrestrial creature was glaring at him with an expression Vlad could not pinpoint but for the first time in a very long time, he felt terrified, too terrified to even attack in defense, but terrified enough to give a nervous half-smile, wiggling his fingers in failed greeting.

"H-hello." he struggled to gain control of his trembling voice "I'm Vlad…Masters?"

"Greetings Vlad Maters." but there was no substance to the salutation as his eyes narrowed into slits "I am Argon and I think we should have a talk about interrupting my contemplations."

* * *

Uh-oh, looks like our favorite half-ghost is in trouble!

The dialogue between Clockwork and Vlad was fun to write as well as the dying star concept. Their relationship will be explained in depth later in the story, so stay tuned for that.

I'll probably be editing the ch. 1 and 2 and post ch. 4 as soon as I can.

Comments/suggestions are always welcomed with opened arms.

Kisses!

**(1) "Hi, what's new?"**

**(2) "Would you like to go out with me?" **

**If these translations are wrong, I do apologize.**


	5. Chapter 4

Hey guys! Hope you had a nice 4th of July. So here's chapter 4 of Amistad, I had a hard time writing it, but I think it turned out okay haha.

Just to summarize, Vlad has been discovered by Argon. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Danny Phantom belongs to Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon.

* * *

_"Getting lost is just another way of saying 'going exploring."_ - Justina Chen

* * *

Tydo sat still, trying not to pay attention to the pair of eyes boring into the back of his head. The tiny Osarian sat in the CU room, a silver office-like space for

recovered patients. He sat at an ivory desk, typing on his J.Y. computer, a clear screen hanging in midair, his tiny fingers dancing across it.

"Argon will be here soon." he murmured to himself.

"I assume Argon is the one who operated on me?"

Tydo winced.

'_I really should keep my thoughts in my mind.'_

He turned to see the Gallian sitting in a chair not too far from him, wearing a white robe, his raven hair now dry, his pale skin now glowing.

"Yes."

The Gallian nodded slowly, his grey eyes clearly searching for something in

Tydo.

"I thought the marmites ate me."

"They usually give that illusion."

"Illusion."

"Yes. When one begins to feed, its venom invades your entire nervous system, giving you the illusion they've invaded your body, so you give up immediately, allowing them to eat you from the inside out. They only nested in your shoulder."

"So they're like you then."

"Like me?" Tydo crossed his legs "How so?"

"Forcing illusions into the minds of those you tear apart-oh sorry, experiment on."

"I suppose you don't like Osarians."

"No."

"That's to be expected."

"Not the response I was expecting."

Tydo tilted his head.

"I mean, I've only ever seen your kind during galactic bio-engineering conferences. You seem like a timid race. Not very prone to feeling well... anything."

"Anything?"

"I just insulted your people and their purpose in this galaxy. You're really not going to do anything to me? You have me pinned to his chair with your mind, why

not break all my bones?"

"I didn't know Gallians where aware of the subconscious mind. I had believed your race were more lenient towards the physical."

"Oh we are. But we're not stupid."

"I didn't imply that."

"Please, I've heard plenty of stories from fellow comrades about how you all use your words. Just as much as your 'procedures.'"

"I suppose you heard them from the Airdons as well."

"You mean your slaves?"

Tydo sighed. "It's complicated."

"I thought you all were geniuses."

"Argon will be here soon."

"Typical. You depend on your fellow monsters for help."

"Excuse me." Tydo sat up, narrowing his eyes "We may not be your ideal race, but we do have compassion and peace."

_ Crash!  
_  
"Orion's nebula!" Argon's voice reigned into the room, freezing Tydo and the Gallian in their seats "that was my wormhole telescope! Do you know how much that cost?!"

Ignoring the Gallian's curling lips, Tydo quickly jumped from his chair, running past him with a quick "I'll be back."

He ran out of the CU room, following the alarming sounds of things crashing. It was as if Argon was chasing an _algort_ around...

"He's still in the stellar room?" he increased his pace. He had never heard such ruckus in that room before. It wasn't long before Tydo was running within the

long tunnel-like hallway, his tiny feet stopping right in front of the door of the stellar room. He knew it wasn't smart, but he couldn't help but knock. It was as if

the knock itself had summon another terrible crash.

"Asmov's Galaxy! You're going to interrupt the constellations! Stop—I have never—you—TYDO! TYDO GET IN HERE NOW!"

"Argon!" Tydo opened the door, startled "Why are you-? Oh my…"

It wasn't so much the alarming state of the stellar room that put his words to a halt as it was the creature who caused it. Hovering not too far from a livid Argon, who was struggling to catch him and too close to constellation ceiling, was a creature Tydo had never seen before. He was wearing a white space suit with a matching cape and had aqua blue skin. But what really struck was the creature's blood red eyes and the matching glow of light engulfed in his right hand targeted at Argon.

"Incredible." he whispered.

The blue creature snapped his head to Tydo, its eyes glowing.

"Stay back!" its voice was almost as deep and bold as Argon's "Don't make me fry you into dust, Martian!"

"Martian?!" seethed Argon "How insulting!"

"Please don't be afraid, you majestic creature!" Tydo's eyes sparkled as he raised his hands in surrender "We are Osarians and we mean you no harm!"

Argon rubbed his forehead as the creature's eyes widened.

"Tydo please not now."

"My God, you sound like the goth girl."

"What is goth?"

"Enough!" Argon raised a hand to the creature, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

The pink ball of light disappeared as it froze in place, its arms stuck to its sides, struggling against the mental bond. Argon lowered it to the ground, opening his eyes and turning to Tydo.

"Quickly Tydo!"

The tiny Osarian was ahead of him for he already had his hand pressed against the creature's face, having to take it off for a moment in order to avoid its sharp teeth before placing it on his face again and releasing an aurora that put him into a deep sleep. The Osarians waited for a moment, basking in the momentary silence while observing the peculiar being hovering a few inches from the ground, now unconscious.

"Are you alright?" Tydo stood straight, rubbing the hand that almost got bitten.

"Yes." muttered Argon, his eyes still glued to the creature "I am. Are you?"

"Yes. How did it manage to stop you? Does it possess the same sub-consciousness as we do?"

Argon looked at his smaller counterpart in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Weren't you meditating when he intruded?"

"How did you know I was meditating?"

"Argon, everyone in _Amistad_ knows this. I am not judging you, I am simply asking."

"Alright," Argon stepped over a shattered bronze telescope, eyeing it with grief as he passed and walked over to a silver ball hovering underneath the center of the constellation ceiling. He reached over and ran his hand in a circular motion around it. Above him, the constellations changed into a montage of close ups, individual names and positions in space before changing into its original image. The elder Osarian released a relieved sigh "I wanted to clear my head for a bit before retrieving the Gallian's records, so I was contemplating when it" he gestured to creature "appeared before me, flying about, talking about mating."

"…okay." Tydo scratched his head "So he interrupted your contemplation?"

"Yes." Argon released the silver ball, allowing it to take its place underneath the constellations.

"He can't be from this galaxy then. Everyone knows intruding on an Osarian's contemplation is a crime by law."

"Indeed."

"So why didn't you sedate him with your aurora? Surely you were manifesting it during your mediation."

Argon turned to Tydo with wide eyes as if seeing him for the first time. Tydo stared back with a matching expression.

"You didn't think to do that first?" he said in shock.

"I…well I…was trying to talk to him." Argon actually shrugged, further shocking Tydo "Look Tydo, I was just trying to figure out why he was here that's all. You said yourself he wasn't from this galaxy."

"So…you were curious?"

"Is it _that_ surprising?"

"Yes Argon. You're not exactly a curious type. Wait, if you were merely trying to talk to him, why did he create such damage?"

"Asmov if I know. He introduced himself and so did I. But when I came closer to him, demanding to know why he was here intruding on my contemplation, he started flying around the room, destroying my possessions in the process and nearly disrupting the constellations."

"Interesting." Tydo rubbed his chin, tilting his head at the strange being "Perhaps that is how they get to know others on its planet."

"Perhaps."

Tydo suddenly snapped his head up.

"Where exactly did he come from?"

"I'm honestly not sure." Argon looked away from Tydo, eyeing the creature "He probably entered through the ship's ventilation."

Tydo had a strong feeling from the expression on Argon's face this wasn't true. He stared at the elder Osarian, wondering why he would keep that information from him, but before he could attempt to find the truth, Argon spoke.

"Let us take him to the pod room. It will help him to relax and cooperate better with us."

Tydo looked at the being for a minute before deciding to drop the subject all together and nodded.

"Okay."

* * *

_"God, this is bogus."_

_ He looked up from his notes in surprise. His best friend squeezed the edges of his dark hair as he poured over the piles of paper scattered about on his desk. Vlad sat cross-legged on his bed, his pile of notes more neatly organized. They wore their usual up-late-at-night pajamas and rather exhausted but determined expressions, well at least he still had the determined part down._

_ "Jack?"_

_ "It's bogus!" he gestured to the scattered papers "There's no way it's going to work!"_

_ "Jack," he set his notes down with a sigh "we can't give up now."_

_ "I dunno what I was thinking, V-man. This won't work, the calculations just don't add up."_

_ "That's because it has never been done before." Vlad smiled as he got off his bed and walked over to his best friend, putting his a hand on his shoulder "Jack, I didn't think this would be possible either, but after mapping it out, it's brilliant!"_

_ "Really?"_

_ "Yes! A portal to the ghost zone? Another dimension? I know it seems impossible, but what if it wasn't? Imagine the incredible things we could discover, the borders of life and death. You, Maddie, and I, together we could open up whole new worlds! We can't give up now."_

_ He tried to ignore the way Jack's face lit up at the mention of Maddie. His best friend straightened up in his chair and gathered his papers with a grin. _

_ "You're right! Look at me sitting here like a slump, we got work to do! Thanks Vlad, I could always count on you!"_

_ "Oh…of course." he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly "We're friends remember?"_

_ Jack nodded happily before patting his back._

_ "The very best. Now could you help me with this equation? I've been stuck on it for hours!"_

* * *

"Temperature...undetermined...disembodied..."

He felt as if he was dipped in ice water. He squeezed his eyes, pushing them further against his skull, struggling to reach the core of heat.

"Temperature...undetermined...disembodied..."

He couldn't find it

Although his mind awoke with a start, his body was still cold and weak, determined not to get up. So he agreed with it, taking in a deep breath while

keeping his eyes closed. It felt like ice filling his lungs without suffocating them. He tried again to reach the core of heat that was his power. But it felt like it had

been diminished, like blown out flame. Was he in human form?

Vlad opened his eyes, his lids feeling as if they weighed 50 pounds. He saw what seemed to be a faded reflection of himself.

"Plasmius?"

He reached up to touch the pale blue face, absent of all ghostly glow, his blood red eyes dull and almost lifeless.

"I'm still in ghost form?" he brought his hand back to his face in disbelief.

The last thing he remembered was an unusually small hand reaching for his face. He had made an effort to bite it, believing that it would somehow try to

suffocate him. But once it was on his face, everything went black. Now he was in this strange pod, cushioned in a clear jelly-like substance that felt rather

comforting. He lifted a leg, realizing he was naked again. He could barely see anything beyond the glass due to the fact that it was foggy probably because of

his cold breath. However, he could make out a strange looking machine? Robot? peering at him through the glass with foreign words, vocally translating them

to,

"Temperature...undetermined...disembodied..."

It took him 15 minutes fighting another wave of sleep to realize it was speaking to him.

"My...temperature?"

The machine pushed itself forward, indicating a yes. He was surprised it could hear him.

"Yes..." it tilted its head with a hint of curiosity "temperature undetermined...disembodied."

_ 'Disembodied?'_

"Temperature? Uh cold? Freezing actually."

"Below average?" it suggested.

A light bulb sparked.

"Yes, I'm so cold, please let me out. I need air."

The machine tilted its head to another side and peered even closer. It was cold enough for his eyes to water, which was rather futile due to the fact machine's

weren't subject to human emotions. But then again, he had thought that about Dani.

"Please," he could see himself in the machine's screen, caught between symbols weak red eyes now alert, masking exhaustion and a need to escape "I need

water, so thirsty."

"Temperature below average. Specimen released."

A small smirk played on his dry lips.

_'That was almost too easy.'_

There was a noise of air being release through a low whistle as the pod crack open. The air was clearer and colder as he slowly lifted himself out, ignoring the

protest of his muscles. He was careful not to give into to vertigo as he steadied himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the machine staring at him with

intensity, almost like the alien he encountered earlier.

_"I am Argon."  
_

Vlad felt a shiver jog down his spine. He'd never thought the aliens in those lame abduction films were real. He'd never thought they'd actually look frightening

in reality either. And it's voice... A voice so ominous.

How he ended up in this mess was beyond him. How in the world did he end up here anyway? Wasn't he in a dying star? He straightened up, pushing his

damp hair out of his face before turning to the machine who was actually a robot. It had the body of a stick figure with robotic hands and a cube shaped,

computer screened head, illuminated with peculiar, almost Egyptian like symbols.

He had to escape. To where? He didn't know.

_ 'Anywhere but here. God only knows what these things will do to me.'  
_  
He ran his hand across his loose hair again, but this time to give himself a more discomforted look and looked at the robot with tired and heavy lidded eyes.

"Who are you?"

"I am XJ 27225. _Amistad's_ medical artificial intelligence." it recited "I was stationed by Dr. Argon to monitor subject's condition."

"Amistad?"

"The ship we are in."

"Oh," Vlad took a step toward the machine, making sure to limp and stagger a little, causing XJ to extend its neck to get better observation of him "so Argon...is

he the leader of Amistad?"

"No, Argon is the leader of Amistad's medical station. Captain Khoi is leader of the ship and supervisor of the Airdons."

_'Supervisor.'_

That meant the Airdons were considered beneath these aliens in some sense. So they might not have the same power as them, meaning he could escape easily under their watch especially with his ghost powers. However, he was very weak and was having trouble even feeling them internally.

_ 'I'll get warmer, I just need water...and cloths.'  
_  
"I actually know an Airdon who's on this ship."

"On this ship."

He nodded. Luckily the atmosphere kept him cold and frail, passing the suspicions of XJ, who said,

"Does the subject know this Airdon's name?"

"I...I can't remember" be held the sides of his head and squeezed tight "I think it is B...B..."

"Blane?" suggested XJ.

Vlad almost smirked, nearly blowing his cover. But he opened his eyes in mock surprise and nodded happily.

"Yes! Blane! I have to see him, it's why I came to Amistad in the first place."

"Strange. No Airdon has ever expected visitor."

Vlad tried to think of Maddie in order to give his most precious, puppy smile.

"He's my closest friend. Please, I must see him."

"It is interesting you are in acquaintance with Blane. He is but a cook in this ship and does not have a dynamic lifestyle."

"We haven't spoken in a long time." Vlad nodded solemnly.

"Okay, I will take you to him. I must notify Argon first."

"No." he kept his voice soft and sheepish "please...I...I'm afraid of him. Don't notify Blane either, ok? I want to surprise him."

XJ observe him thoughtfully. Vlad knew the robot was probably looking up these foreign emotions he described. It tilted its head before nodding.

"I will take you to Blane."

"Thank you."

"Follow me, we must go to the kitchen."

As they walked out of the pod room and into a long white hallway, Vlad ran the plan over in his head. It would be so simple. All he had to do was electrocute XJ

and knock the Airdon out, then take it's space suit and escape through the ship's ventilation. He looked out an oval window as they walked. It was eerie how

the darkness of space contrasted with the pure white walls. He could feel the pure marble under underneath his feet as well. Not one scratch.

They reached a silver sphere hovering in the middle of the hallway. Vlad watched XJ tap a pattern on it before it opened for them to go in. Vlad tried reaching

for his core in the elevator, but it was nowhere to be found. He tried not to look frustrated, for XJ was 5 inches from his face, observing him closely.

"Disembodied..." it murmured.

Vlad tried to look clueless.

"Disembodied..." it repeated before falling back into its silence.

Vlad didn't know what to say. What exactly did disembodied mean?

_'I'm not dead am I?'_

No, he could still feel his human form within him more than ever, aching to come out. It usually happened when he was severely weakened. But he had to keep

himself in ghost form, at least until he found a safe place far away from this ship.

The elevator doors opened.

"You have reached the kitchen." said an elegant and very soft voice.

It was a silent and dimly lit space. There were rows of what looked like food ready to be wrapped and eaten. Vlad tried not to pay attention to the fact that

some of it was moving, but he couldn't ignore the distinct smell coming from it so strong he nearly gagged. He kept close to XJ, as they walked past it, trying

not to hold his breath for too long. As they passed the rows of food, he could hear the sickening sound of flesh being elaborately cut and skinned.

They stopped at a doorway. To his surprise, XJ knocked instead of manually opening it. The cutting paused for a moment before a baritone and grim voice

hoarsely said, "come in XJ."

XJ tapped a pattern on the door as he did with the elevator and it slid open. Vlad wished this room wasn't brighter than the kitchen. The smell was like none

other. His stomach was doing back flips at the sight of dead foreign animals hanging by the neck on hooks organized into rows just like the food in the kitchen.

They all looked to be the same species; a cross between a bison and a bear with its brown fur and towering horns. The source of the butchering sound came

from the middle of the room where a dead creature lay on a long silver table covered in its maroon blood. Hovering over it with a long knife, was what Vlad

assumed an Airdon. Its white suit along with its matching helmet was nearly covered in blood. He quickly pulled himself together as XJ announced,

"Blane, you have a visitor."

The Airdon named Blane sliced the creature's arm clean off its body, before setting it to the side. He slowly walked over to Vlad and XJ with heavy steps, each leaving a hint of exhaustion. As Blane stopped in front of them, the odor of the blood filled Vlad's lungs and he struggled not to vomit on the spot.

"Trust me," said Blane "it gets worse the deeper you go."

Vlad nearly jumped in surprised. He was sure he had his poker face intact.

The Airdon chuckled.

"So you're my visitor."

Vlad gave a sheepish, yet happy smile, but it was wiped from his face as Blane's chuckling turned into hollow laughter.

"He claims you are his closest friend. He was anxious to meet you." recited XJ.

"Oh?" Blane took off his helmet.

Vlad wished he'd put it back on. He never thought he'd see so many heavy wrinkles on one person's face. It was as if Blane's skin had been deprived of all fluids giving him the appearance of a badge raisin with eyes that had pupils too tiny for the yellow outer layer.

"My closest friend." he said, his eyes roaming every inch of Vlad's body "You look quite surprised to see me."

Vlad narrowed his eyes as he struggled to reach his power. He had to buy time.

"The robot notified you, didn't he?"

"You really thought he wouldn't see through your little performance? 'B…B…he's my closest friend!'"

Vlad snarled, his fangs bared as Blane chuckled again and lifted up his wrist to show what looked like a watch.

"Heard it all on this. But don't worry, XJ didn't notify Argon. He must of sensed real fear in that. I commanded him not to anyway."

"I'm not afraid of that Martian!"

"Martian?" Blane's eyes gleamed in amusement "I would've given anything to see his face when you called him that. He's not a Martian, he's an Osarian."

"Osarian?"

_'Come on! Why can't I reach it? an ecto-plasmic energy blast, a shield, fly, something!'_

"Scum." said Blane darkly "That's all you need to know about them."

"Oh?" he smirked "someone has a grudge."

"You have no idea. Anyway, I'm wasting time allowing you to reach your powers."

Vlad stared at him with a deer-in-headlights look to which Blane mockingly returned the expression.

"You really think you're the smartest person in the universe, eh?"

"How did you know—?"

"I know a lot about you Vlad. But enough talking, you don't want to be late for your procedure."

"Look here, you—oof!"

The Airdon suddenly dug his fist deep into Vlad's gut. He felt a sickening _plop_ from inside and a pain that followed quickly after, bringing him to his knees. To his horror, he felt familiar white rings pass through his body, turning him human. The ice cold air, the smell of foreign flesh and blood, all senses came in stronger than before. Vlad shivered violently against the cold, his wet hair now silver stuck to his face, a pain in his stomach spreading to his chest forcing him to vomit.

He tried to fight against XJ, who lifted him with careful but firm hands.

"Specimen in need of emergency medical assistance."

"Indeed," Blane clicked the sides of his watch and with amused eyes locked on Vlad's terrified ones, he said "Jogan? Yes, this is Blane reporting an escaped specimen. Yes…it looks to be an adult male…right, it's from planet earth…yes…yes he is human."

Vlad could hear a chorus of what sounded like excited voices. Blane nodded into his watch and smiled, worsening his wrinkles.

"Indeed, it is a break through. Yes…I'd take precaution though…he is deranged. He somehow managed to escape his pod, so perhaps you can explore his mental capacity as well…oh and his organ seems to have ruptured…yes it will need to be pumped, maybe even taken out for examination…right, yes, I truly do admire the intelligence of Osarians…of course, it is always a pleasure to serve you. No need to notify Argon, I've already done it…yes, he approves…XJ has the specimen, what is your command?"

The pain and cold overwhelmed him so strongly that he almost welcomed the wave of unconsciousness that drowned him, but not before he heard a deep voice say

"Bring him to us."

* * *

Poor Vlad, I hate torturing him like this. Welp, that's all folks for now. Unfortunately, things are going to get worse for our halfa. Next chapter will be the "procedure" scene which may increase the rating .

Until next time...


End file.
